Detergent



Patented Oct. 11,- 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mam meen'rr GRAY, orLARGHMONT, NEW YORK DETERGENT! Ho Drawing.

with water and cakes there; and tends to cling to the surface of thearticle to be cleaned I (marble, tile, terazzo, concrete) thus making itdiflicult to remove such' volcanic ash from the container and from thearticle to be cleaned and also reducing the initial proportion of theabrasive to the chemicalconstituent.

I have found that finely ground soapstone, when added to such abrasivedetergent. mixture, will prevent the close adhesion between the volcanicash and any material with which it is brought into contact, and willcause it to settle with less compactness so that it may be more easilystirred back again into suspension in the water, and also permit thearticle to be cleaned to be more easily rinsed. Ihave found also thatthe presence of the soapstone reduces the severity of the abrasiveaction of the volcanic ash, and for some reason not clear to me, resultsin a more thorough emulsification of the oil, greaseorother fat prescuton the article to be cleaned.

The amount of soapstone to be added to the volcanic ash is preferablysuch as will I produce the possible optimum of the intended resultwithout preventing the desired abrasive action of the ash. The degree offineness of the volcanic ash is determined by the uses to whichthedetergent is to be put, other things being equal the finer the ashthe less harsh its abrasive action. I have found that the finer thesoapstone particles the more effective is their action in preventingcompacting of the volcanic ash. I prefer to use both soapstone and ashof a de ee of fineness which will permit passage tIi i'ough a 200 meshscreen. With the materials of Application filed January 8, 1929. SerialNo. 330,148.

this degree of fineness, I prefer to use one part by weight of soapstoneto two parts by weight of volcanic ash, although these proportions mayobviously be varied within wide limits. v

A specific example of an improved detergent embodying my invention isthe followng= a Parts Volcanic ash (200 mesh) 53 Soapstone (200 mesh) 27Soda ash 4; Tri-sodium phosphate. 16

all the parts being by weight.

For the tri-sodium phosphate and soda ash I may substituteany othernon-fatty detergent material suitable for use with a large proportion ofWater.

In place. of volcanic ash I may use any other suitable abrasivematerial, for instance, comminuted pumice, quartz, or feldspar.

I do not claim to be the first to use volcanic ash or equivalentmaterial as theabrasive ingredient of a detergent mixture, nor do Iclaim to be the'first to use "soapstone as such an ingredient. I amaware that it has been suggested to add to soapstone when used as apolishing material, a very small proportion of pumice as an abrasiveingredient-in connection with acid for-cleaning marble. My invention,however, is based upon the discovery that when soapstone and volcanicash are mixed with a comparatively large amount of water, the ash willnot compact as readily as when used without soapstone and will not clingto the container and to the article to be cleaned, as when used withoutsoapstone, and that therefore both such container and such article canmore readily be rinsed and the cleaning operation as a whole isfacilitated.

I claim:

A composition of matter suitable for use as a detergent when admixedwith water, consisting of 53 parts of volcanic ash, 27 partsofsoapstone, 41- parts of soda ash and. 16 parts of trisodium phosphate.

I-I. LIGGETT GRAY.

